New Home Away From Home

From day care to kindergarten to middle school and then to high school, you have been a diligent parent nurturing and advising your child. Now that little darling is off to college to live in a dorm room no bigger than a bread basket. What's a parent to do?

Melissa Warren sent her daughter Mackenzie to Southern Methodist University in Dallas two years ago. She realizes now that it wasn't necessary to take four suitcases packed with just about everything Mackenzie owned.

"Once inside the dorm, we realized that maybe we brought too much," Warren said. "It seems parents become a bit overzealous and what happens is that too much is brought too soon without really knowing what needs to be brought or bought."

But Warren learned from it and has a few suggestions for other parents of college freshmen.

"Don't do anything major until you actually see the dorm room," she said. "It's too easy to run out and buy all kinds of stuff, especially now with so many back-to-school sales. Take stock of what's needed and talk to the dorm's resident adviser. Evaluate closet space and see if there is a shelf or if you can maximize floor space by stacking storage units. Take advantage of space under the bed. There are devices that will increase bed heights as much as three feet. So instead of dead space under the bed, you have room for several stackable containers. And even with containers, find out what kind of space you have before buying a bunch of them."

While finding space for shoes and clothes is important, the room also should look nice.

Lisa Gyuran, a student at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Henderson who will be graduating with a degree in fine art for interior design, said a small room looks best with a monochromatic color scheme.

"You can have a small room with one color but in different tones, hues and accent colors," she explained. "Bedding and sheets can be one color. Then find a chair with a different hue of that color and later add black and white graphic print pillows to bring in a little pattern. And let that color reflect the student's personality because there will be weekends when your child stays in and that small environment should be familiar and comfortable."

Ellie Stanisci, design director at Robb & Stucky Interiors at Town Square Las Vegas, suggests using vertical pieces like bookcases and window treatments that fit above the window.

"This technique draws the eye upward and creates a feeling of height," she explained. "And everyone knows that the use of mirrors is another great trick for instantly making a room feel larger. A mirror's reflection nearly doubles the size of a room if properly positioned."

There are a number of other options to make the most of a small area.

Gyuran lives in a small condo and owns a dining room table that, when not in use for dining, folds in half and sits against the wall as an accent table.

"Look for pieces that have multiple uses," she said. "Some desks fold down or fold up and look like a bookshelf. There is removable wallpaper that if placed on the wall behind the bed will make the room a more dramatic space. Many of these items can be found in local discount stores, but also look in second-hand stores, the Salvation Army or at flea markets. You can never tell what you might find."

While trying to figure out what to take or not take that first year, keep in mind that most students come home for Thanksgiving and can return with additional clothes or special things. Warren suggests parents encourage their children to take several items that remind them of home.

"Kids are going to be homesick while making the adjustment of being away from their family, and it's nice if they have a favorite stuffed animal, poster or something that reminds them of home," she said. "It's a wonderful experience because they'll learn that they don't always need what they think you need. They will learn to live comfortably without a lot."